Lionel Messi has been making headlines for scoring the fastest International goal after Argentina won against Australia in a friendly match in China. Messi enjoys a massive fan following who were inspired to join football as a profession. Lionel Messi, originally Lionel Andres Messi, born in Rosario, Santa Fe, on 24 June 1987, is an Argentine professional footballer.
Messi is the son of Celia Cuccittini, a worker at a company manufacturing magnet, and Jorge Messi, a factory worker. Messi became a part of the Rosario Club at the tender age of six, where he continued to play for Newell’s Old Boys. His very first coach of Messi was his dad, and he continued to practice with his siblings.
Messi has been in a committed relationship with his sweetheart Antonella Roccuzzo. Messi and Antonella have three children between them, and Ronaldo has proved to be an amazing father. Messi became the first football player to cross the mark of $5,12,86,800 in 2013, with an earning of $ 5,25,68,970. Currently, Messi is a part of the Paris Saint-Germain team and plays forward and midfielder.
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Lionel Messi’s Net Worth-
Messi enjoys an estimated net worth of $600 M, most of which comes from his successful career as a professional football player. Messi had a base salary of $168M annually offered by Barcelona to play for their team. Previously the base salary of Messi was $44.68 M annually. The Paris Saint-Germain signed Messi to play for their team for $75 M annually before the taxes are paid and $40 M after taxes are paid. A crucial amount of Messi’s net worth comes from brand endorsements done by him.
Messi earns approximate amount of $40 M annually through brand endorsement deals. Messi enjoys the endorsement of a lifetime with Addidas. From 2018-2019 Messi earned a whopping amount of $130 M through his brand endorsement. Messi has been featured on the cover pages of several magazines, including Pro Evolution. A crucial amount of Messi’s income comes from the sale of his Jersey sales after they hit the set milestone.
As of 2023, Messi has been in talks to sign a deal worth $1 B with an unknown team from Saudi Pro League. If the deal goes through, Messi would be receiving $400 M per season, which will almost double his annual income. Messi owns a home worth $2 M in Pedrables, a neighborhood in Barcelona.
The home now has an estimated net worth of $7-10 M, as Messi spent a crucial amount of cash to do renovations in his house. Messi bought a condo worth $5 M in 2019, and he bought an entire 9th floor of a building located in Miami worth $7.3 M in 2021. Messi made a crucial amount of his net worth by playing in the position of a phenomenal striker for the Barcelona team. Messi and Team Barcelona went separate ways in 2020 after the team wasn’t able to afford the star player any longer.
Messi is the proud owner of a Ferrari F430 Spider worth $160, 230. Messi is a grease monkey as he has a collection of expensive cars, including a Maserati Gran Turismo MC Strade, an Audi R8 Spyder worth $171,0000, a 1957 Ferrari 335 Sport Spider Scaglietti worth $37 M. Messi also owns several properties in Castelldefels.
Messi enjoys a massive following on social media with 472 M followers that he uses to keep his fans updated on the ongoing events of his life. Messi uses his social media platform to increase his earning because he signs brand deals to promote them on his page. A crucial amount of Messi’s income comes from the sale of his shoe line under Addidas.
Lionel Messi’s Controversies-
Throughout his successful career, Messi has been a part of five major controversies that have had no effect on his overall career. Messi is still one of the most loved footballers of all time.
Lionel Messi came into the limelight and was surrounded by controversy for the first time in 2013 when he alongside his father Jorge, was accused of tax fraud evasion. Messi got accused of evading taxes in 2013 by the tax authorities of Spain. The authorities alleged that Messi, with Jorge, his father, had evaded taxes worth 4.1 M euros, and the duo got charged with three counts of tax fraud.
The allegations of tax fraud were denied by Messi, but to his bad luck, he was later found guilty of evading the taxes. As punishment, Messi had to be sentenced to 21 months in prison, but as the law in Spain allows the first-time offender having a sentence of less than 2 years to be forgiven, Messi didn’t have to spend any time in jail. Tax fraud evasion was one of the major controversies of Messi’s career, and it raised several questions about the fairness of the tax system.
Another controversy that Messi got into was his retirement from the National Team of Argentina. The controversy happened in 2016 when Messi announced his retirement from the National team Argentina after his team lost three times. The last straw for Messi proved to be the match between Argentina and Chile, Messi was visibly upset at the time and made the decision.
Messi got accused of lacking sportsmanship after this incident. Messi wasn’t punished for his actions, as he later apologized to the player. Messi once again was surrounded by controversy in 2016, after he was caught insulting the national anthem of Chile during the World Cup qualifier. The incident caused a diplomatic row as the Argentina team was caught making derogatory signs towards the national anthem of Chile. The allegations were denied by the star player and he escaped from the controversy with no punishment. This action by Messi showed him in a different light to his fans, and they felt he does lack sportsmanship.
The recent controversy Messi found himself in was the contract dispute with Barcelona. Messi made the announcement in 2020, expressing his desire to leave club Barcelona after playing for 20 years with them. Messi desired to leave on a free transfer as he wasn’t happy with the way the team was managed. Messi wasn’t allowed to leave Scout free as his contract had a clause where it stated that Messi has to pay 700 M euros as compensation to leave. This controversy raised several questions from the fans regarding Messi’s loyalty towards the club. Messi stayed an extra year, but the relationship was already damaged.
Lionel Messi’s Retirement-
Lionel Messi is the Ace of football and has established himself as the champion in the sport. In 2022 Messi won the Fifa World Cup in Qatar against France, and the player has dropped subtle hints regarding his retirement. The Argentina National Team hasn’t said anything publicly about Messi’s retirement, but it has also dropped hints regarding Messi’s retirement by stating he has nothing more left to achieve. The Argentina Team hasn’t made any official announcement regarding the date of Messi’s retirement. Messi has happily stated in an interview that he is happy to go out as the champion of everything.
